Fred Vargas held the #1 slot on France’s fiction bestseller list in late May with When the Recluse Comes Out, the latest in his series of mysteries starring Parisian police commissioner Adamsberg. English-language translations are published in the U.S. by Penguin. The French translation of German author Peter Wohlleben’s The Hidden Life of Trees topped the nonfiction list. Trees has been a bestseller in North America, where it is published by Canada’s Greystone Books.
Germany’s fiction list was led by Norwegian author Maja Lunde. Her multigenerational speculative novel, The History of Bees, will be published in August in the U.S. by Simon & Schuster’s Touchstone imprint. In the second position was perennial German favorite Donna Leon with her most recent Commissario Brunetti mystery, Earthly Remains. Healing with the Power of Nature by Andreas Michalsen was the bestselling nonfiction title for the second month in a row.
In Sweden, Camila Läckberg’s The Witch, the 10th book in her popular Fjällbacka series, was the country’s bestselling fiction title in May. Next on the fiction list was The Engaged Country by Mari Jugstedt, the second in a series set in the Canary Islands. The book follows a man who wakes to find his wife murdered beside him. The first in the series, A Darker Sky, was cowritten with Ruben Eliassen and published in an English translation by Amazon Crossing.—Ed Nawotka
France
| Fiction | Nonfiction | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Quand sort la recluse When the Recluse Comes Out Fred Vargas Flammarion | La vie secrète des arbres The Hidden Life of Trees Peter Wohlleben Les Arènes |
| 2 | Un appartement à Paris An Apartment in Paris Guillaume Musso XO | Lettre ouverte aux animaux An Open Letter to Animals Frédéric Lenoir Fayard |
| 3 | Vernon Subutex (Vol. 3) Virginie Despentes Grasset et Fasquelle | Une très légère oscillation A Very Slight Oscillation Sylvain Tesson Éditions des Équateurs |
For the week ended June 3; used by arrangement with GFK/Livres Hebdo
Germany
| Fiction | Nonfiction | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Die geschichte der bienen The History of Bees Maja Lunde BTB | Heilen mit der kraft der natur Healing with the Power of Nature Andreas Michalsen Insel |
| 2 | Stille wasser Earthly Remains Donna Leon Diogenes | Das geheime leben der bäume The Hidden Life of Trees Peter Wohlleben Ludwig |
| 3 | Selfies The Scarred Woman Jussi Adler-Olsen DTV | Homo Deus Yuval Noah Harari C.H. Beck |
For the week ended May 28; used by arrangement with Buchreport
Sweden
| Fiction | Nonfiction | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Häxan The Witch Camilla Läckberg Bokförlaget Forum | Underkänd F in Exams Richard Benson Tukan Förlag |
| 2 | Det förlovade landet The Engaged Country Mari Jungstedt Albert Bonniers Förlag | Omgiven av idioter Surrounded by Idiots Thomas Erikson Hoi Förlag |
| 3 | Ditt liv och mitt Your Life and Mine Majgull Axelsson Brombergs Bokförlag | Food Pharmacy Mai Clase & Lina Nertby Aurell Bonnier Fakta |
For the week ended May 17; used by arrangement with Svensk Bokhandel
